Tag Archives: profitable

At the end of last week LinkedIn reminded me that Pixalytics had now been in existence for two years. Where has the time gone? The first six months were spent transitioning out of my old company, setting up Pixalytics, having a holiday and getting our first contracts; although it didnâ€™t happen as neatly as that list suggests!

Evolution of the Pixalytics logo over the last two years

The companyâ€™s first full year was 2013 and, like any new business, it was a combination of hard work, anxiety and enjoyment; at the end I was really pleased with what weâ€™d achieved in the first year â€“ particularly that I started receiving a salary! Weâ€™ve spent the first six months of 2014 developing a growth strategy for the company with advice from the PlymouthÂ Science Park Mentoring Scheme to see how we can expand. Weâ€™ve got ideas, all we have to do is implement them now â€¦Iâ€™m still surprised to be writing about my company. In the last 10 years I’ve gone from being a full-time academic, to 50/50 academic/commercial and then to full time commercial. My commercial journey began in 2007 with establishing a new company with some French colleagues, and then two years ago I left to set up Pixalytics.

Iâ€™ve been asked on numerous occasions whether setting up and running a company is stressful or frightening? Many people like the idea of running their own company, but are worried about taking the leap of faith it requires. When you’re running your company you have the freedom to explore what you’re passionate about, but youâ€™re also responsible for bringing in the money to pay your salary. I love my work, seeing a problem where remote sensing can provide part, or all, of the solution; and thinking about how to turn the scientific research into a commercial opportunity. For me, this combination of pressure, independence and challenge is exciting.

So two years in, have we been successful? There are a lot of statistics that suggest around fifty to sixty percent of new business fail within the first two years, and given weâ€™re still here that must be a positive. Weâ€™re seeing an increase in our profile, number of contacts and companies asking for our help, and weâ€™re moving into developing new products and services. Of course Iâ€™d have liked to have grown faster, and there have been disappointments along the way, but overall weâ€™re a growing, profitable company. It still feels that we’re only just starting and continuing to learn, if you want join our journey get in touch and weâ€™ll see how we can help you.